Wire-fence stretcher.



I 1. OLSON. WIRE FENCE STRETCHER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 9, I914.

1,157,324. Patented 001. 19, 1915.

(inventor JOHN QLSON COLUMBIA PLANOGM IO-,WMMIIUTON. D. c.

Joirn OLSON, or BELGRADE, MINNESOTA.

WIRE-FENCE s'rnnrcnnn.

i Specification of Iietters Patent. H Patented Oct. 19, 1915.

Application filed December 9, 1914. seria noj 876,317.

To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, J oH N'OLsoN, a citizen oftheUnited States, residing at Belgrade,

the county of Stearns and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n ire-Fence Stretchers, of which the following is a speclficatlon,

. referencebeinghad to the accompanying object to provide a simple and effective de-' vice for easily and quickly stretching ordrawings. 7

This invention relates to improvements 1n wire fence stretchers and has for itsprimary tightening .wire fence fabric. V

The invention hasl'for one of its more specific objects tov provide a stretching device embodying drums carried by the fabric clamp, fiexible'rnembers to be wound upon said drums adapted to be connected to one of'the fenceposts, a' ratchet on each drum, and a pawlgto'engage' said ratchet, novel means being provided for mounting said pawl in position and shifting the-same into or out of cooperating engagement with the ratchet.

The present invention also aims to generally improve devices of the above character whereby the same are rendered extremely strong and durable and capable of operation with a minimum of manual labor.

With the above and other objects in view,"

my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination, and arrangementof parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed,'and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is an elevation of a wire fence stretcher constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention; Fig.

.2 is,a section takenon the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the pawl in an inoperative poopposite sides of the wire fence fabric 6' and securely clamped upon the same by means of a plurality of removable bolts 7. It will be understood, that in the applica tion and use of my invention any other approved type of clamp may be employed, in-

' I stead of the. conventional form illustrated.

To the edge of the main body section of the clamp 5 adjacent the upper andlower' ends thereof, bearing brackets 8 are secured. Each of these brackets consists of a body plate having openings to receive the securlng'bolts 9 which .extend through the body bar of the clamp, and laterally extending arms'lO formed upon said body plate at its opposite ends. This plate is also provided with an integral longitudinal extension 11 on one of its endssecured'to the clamping bar by a suitable screw or other fastening means. The particular purpose of this extensionof the bearing will'be later'pointed out.

The outer ends of the arms 10 of each bearing bracket are provided with openings in which a vertically disposed bolt- 121is loosely mounted. This bolt serves as a drum 'upon which a cable or chain 13 isadapted to be wound, said bolt having an opening therein or other means for conveniently attaching one end of the cable to the same. The upper end. of this bolt is provided with a rectangular head 1 1 and upon the lower end thereof, a'ratchet member 15 is securely fixed by means of the pin 16 extending transversely through said ratchet membe andthe bolt 12.

i In" the edge of the body bar of the clamp 55, a circular socket or recess 17 is formed with which an opening 18 in the extension 11 of the bearing bracket is adapted to register or coincide. 19 designates a pawl loosely disposed through the opening 18 and provided with an enlarged head 20 loosely fitting within the recess 17 of the clamping bar. It will thus be seen that the extension 11, in addition to providing an auxiliary fastening means for the bearing bracket, also serves to retain the pawl in place. The recess 17 in the clamping bar is of sufficient diameter to permit of a vertical movement of the pawl member so that its outer end I may be disengaged from the teeth of the ratchet 15. The pawl 19 is in the form of" a cylindrical pin having a pointed or tapering outer end 2-1 for engagement with the teeth of the ratchet.

In the use of my invention, the clamp is first secured to the end'of the wire fabric,

and the cables 13 connected to the respective be understood that the drum is held against reverse turning movement by meansofthe pawl 19. The two cables are. alternately Wound upon the respective drums in this manner so that the Wire fence fabricis "pulled taut or tightened. After the fabric hasbeen-suitably secured to thefence post,

the cables may be readily unwound from the 1 drums by simply knocking the pawls .19 upwardly so as to disengage their; tapered or 7 pointed ends from the ratchets 15. In this manner,; itQWill be seen that. the I fence fabric maybe very easily and quickly stretched or tightened.

From the :foregoingdescription, Willbe seen that I have produced a simply constructed, stronganddurable stretcher for wire fencing which may be easily 'and' quickly applied to .or removed from the; fence fabric and-requires comparatively lit-' tle manual labor in .itshoperation. ;By'

mounting the pawl member 19 in the man ner above explained, the bearing bracket in which the drum isv mounted to rotate, is re lieved of the excessive strain "which would otherwise take place, if the pawl Was mount- I ed directly upon one of the bracket arms.

By disposing the inner end of the pawl in bearing contact. Withthe clamping bar, the

pressure is applied directly to the barand liability of V displacement of the pawl re-v duced to aminimum.

' "Whilel. have above set forth the pre- Y 'ferred construction andarrangement of the;

Copies o f this patent may be ontained for several elements employed, it"istobe understood that the invention is susceptible of considerable modification and I, therefore, v reserve the privilege of resorting to all such. legitimate changes as may. be fairly. em-

invention as claimed.

bodied Within the 'spiritand 'scopelof the Having thuslfully described my inven-' tion, What I desire'to claim and. secure "by Letters Patent is 1 The combination With a clamping 105155015 extension having an opening therein,imeans 4 5 I i a bearing bracket provided-With an integral for securing said bracket'to the clamping bar, a drum rotatablyfjmounted, in thebean ing bracket, a stretching cable connected to said drum, said clamping bar having? a circularr'ecess therein of greater diameter than the opening n the bearing, extens on, a I

In testimony whe eofi hereunto aflix g V signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

I JOHN- oLsoiv. Witnesses: d i

. RUDOLPH.A. HALTBERG,

GEO. FoRBUs five cents each, by addressing the j Conimissioner .ofPatents, I Washington, D. C. i 

